+ Common Core Concepts +

+ inload: Ave Dominus Nox +

+ Painting Night Lords +

+ Solidly WIP, I thought I'd scribble down some notes; as much for myself as anyone else! The aim of this is to give a very dead, neutral black. Normally this is something I'd avoid, but I want to rob the Night Lords of any vigour or warmth – all the better to get their bitterrness across; and more importantly, to make sure that the blue, gold and red scheme doesn't look cartoony. +

+ Night Lords' midnight plate +

_1 Undercoat grey (as always, I use Halford's primer)._2 Basecoat blue areas with Necron Abyss, and metals with Abaddon Black._3 Glaze with a mix of Necron Abyss and Abaddon Black, thinned using flow enhancer._4 While wet, touch in Nuln Oil in the recesses, and lift away excess glaze from points of highlight._5 Mix The Fang (what a particularly dreadful name for a paint) with Necron Abyss, thin with flow enhancer and add initial highlights._6 Gradually add Vallejo white to the initial highlight mix and build up. Keep these sparing._7 Reglaze with Drakenhof Nightshade to soften any starkness in the highlights. Add Druchii Violet to the recesses to further deepen the shading._8 Once dry, dilute an even mix of Vallejo white and Necron Abyss and paint a few forking marks to represent the effect of the suit's lightning generators. Don't overdo it – subtle is best. _9 Add more white to the mix and thin further, then retrace the lines._10 Use pure white to reinforce just the points at which the lightning divides._11 If necessary, you can go back and clean up the lightning with negative painting – just paint Necron abyss over any splodges.

+ The metal is simply a 50:50 mix of Boltgun Metal and Auric Armour Gold washed over with Agrax Earthshade – again, I wanted an anaemic, thin-looking gold, to heighten the sense of darkness and also to avoid contrasting heavily. No point in painting moody blue-black only to spoil it by making the gold look like sweetie wrappers. +

+ These chaps are coming along well, I think, The eyes need enriching and there's plenty of detailing to do, but they're proving an enjoyable challenge. +